Monk Star Tony Shalhoub Reveals What Inspired New Peacock Movie

Only one thing could bring obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk out of retirement for one last case: COVID-19. Towards the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Monk star Tony Shalhoub revived his role as the “defective detective” for a virtual sketch imagining Monk in quarantine on Peacock’s At-Home Variety Show. Three years later, the NBCUniversal-owned streamer announced Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie, a revival movie reuniting Shalhoub with his co-stars for one last case nearly 14 years after the original series concluded its eight-season run on USA Network. The straight-to-streaming movie is set in the present day “post-COVID,” so to quote Randy Newman: It’s a jungle out there.

“It’s been 14 years, I think, since we wrapped it and I just thought they came up with a good idea for it,” Shalhoub told TheWrap about the new movie. “I think the pandemic had a lot to do with it because everyone was wonder[ing] like, ‘What would Monk be doing during and post-pandemic?’ So that’s kind of where we find the character when we open the movie.”

Plot details are a mystery, but the movie sees germophobic former SFPD detective turned obsessive-compulsive consultant Monk return to solve one last, very personal case involving his beloved step-daughter Molly (played by Alona Tal in the original series), a journalist preparing for her wedding.

Shalhoub reunites with original series stars Ted Levine (as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer), Traylor Howard (asMonk’s assistant, Natalie Teeger), Jason Gray-Stanford (as Lt. RandyDisher), Melora Hardin (as Monk’s late wife, Trudy Monk), and HectorElizondo (as therapist Neven Bell).

Mr. Monk’s Last Case hails from series creator Andy Breckman, who serves as executive producer alongside Shalhoub, David Hoberman, and EP/director Randy Zisk. Universal Studio Group’s UCP, which producedstraight-to-streaming movies Psych 2: Lassie Come Home and Psych 3: This Is Gus reviving USA’s Psych, is the studio.

“When creator Andy Breckman came to us with a new Monk case set inpresent day, we immediately fell in love with this story all overagain,” Michael Sluchan, EVP of Movies, Kids, Daytime at NBCUniversalTelevision and Streaming, said when Peacock announced the movie in March. “The movie hasthe heart and humor of the original series with a contemporaryrelevance, and we’re overjoyed to work with the original creative team,including Andy, David Hoberman, Randy Zisk, the unparalleled TonyShalhoub, and our partners at UCP, for what is sure to be a must-seemovie event for Peacock audiences.”

Said Beatrice Springborn, president ofUCP, “New and returning fans of Monk will love how this creative teamwas able to preserve all that we admire about Adrian Monk whilebringing him into the present. We can’t wait for Peacock viewers to experience this fresh, funand imaginative film.”

Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie will shoot this summer and will have a streaming premiere that is TBA on Peacock. All episodes of Monk are available to stream now on Peacock.